Those Ever-Dying who were offered rescue before the Cataclysm wiped out all life on Earth. For the most part, choosing to accept redemption was an enormous upgrade; homes and jobs were both guaranteed, along with the benefit of magical medical care.
It didn’t work out for everybody. Some hosts essentially took humans as slaves, but no human went into it blind. The chose was Redemption or death, for most (as very few were Pure), and anyone who chose to stay and die along with the world was allowed that choice.